Show is hung and e-book is available

The third anniversary of Katrina is today. New Orleans acknowledges the day with bell ringing and candlelight vigils. See the link to the left.

The NOLA Project art show is up at the Bangor Public library as of today. It is a show of the work I did during and since my trip to New Orleans. I am happy with the overall look of the show. Hope to get some comments there and also here on the blog.

Accompanying the show is an online e-book for those who would like to see the work but are not in the Bangor area. Its pretty neat to be able to produce one of these and it feels like a nice addition to the paintings and photos.

NOLA e-book

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Democratic candidate Barack Obama took a swing at the administration during his acceptance speech in Denver Thursday evening, calling the Bush administration a government "that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes," referring to post-Katrina New Orleans.

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Still praying Gustav will miss New Orleans. To early to tell where or how much of a storm. As of Friday morning, New Orleans officials say that if it calls for an evacuation, it would come sometime on Saturday. Hopefully Gustav will spin itself out and not cause any further trouble.

Suzanne

Hurricane Gustav and the Cone of Uncertainty

Cone of uncertainty-I have never heard this term before.

Gustav is forecast to be a major Category 3 hurricane with top winds of 120 mph about 300 miles south of New Orleans on Sunday afternoon, according to the 4 p.m. forecast of the National Hurricane Center.

As Hurricane Gustav churns over Haiti and looks like it may touch Cuba, I worry about its possible path towards New Orleans. At this time it is way to early to say where it is going or what kind of strength it may have. Computer models put New Orleans in its cone of uncertainty.

from Wunder blog weather undergound
The final landfall location of Gustav depends on the strength and speed of a trough of low pressure forecast to move across the Midwest U.S. late this week. At present, there is no way to guess which location in the Gulf of Mexico is the most likely. Keep in mind that the cone of uncertainty is correct only about 2/3 of the time--1/3 of the time, we can expect the storm's position to be in error by more than what the cone of uncertainty suggests.

Forums are active with speculation and fear from those affected by a possible storm that seems certain to intensify over water and will most likely hit landfall somewhere in the gulf--let us all think positive thoughts that it won't be New Orleans and everyone will be safe and secure everywhere.



Let's take a Look at Strom Protection

The storm surge barrier protecting London

The storm surge barrier in the Netherlands

The hurricane barrier built by the U.S. government to protect Providence, R.I.

The flood protection provided by the U.S. government to New Orleans

These images are in thanks to John M. Barry

John M. Barry is a prize-winning and New York Times best-selling author whose books have won more than twenty awards. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, won the 1998 Francis Parkman Prize of the Society of American Historians for the year’s best book of American history.

New Orleans, you are in our thoughts.

Suzanne

Looking back at the storm

This is a video from UTube that breaks your heart all over again.


There is so much info and video out there. I would love to be able to put it all here on my blog but its easy to find for your self.

video

Video on the housing crisis in New Orleans

3rd Anniversary of Katrina

"I feel so bad for how wrong everything went with Katrina aftermath. It shows that when faced with disaster - no one knows what the hell to do or how to do it. Look at all that money that was wasted while there were (& still are) folks living underneath bridge overpasses. I read the food mags (gourmet, bon apetit) & they rave about how New Orleans is “back” & they’re eating all fancy & partying, I can’t help but think of those folks under that damn bridge!" edited blogger comment

"New Orleans has always been a city of extremes, but now the extreme low end has gotten even lower while the other end looks like nothing ever happened. This is something Dubya could make right before he leaves office." edited blogger comment

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I have been working on the new pieces, doing a bit of info collecting and writing for the show to be hung Aug 28th at Bangor Public Library in Maine. Its been a long time in coming but the timing couldn't be better with the 3rd anniversary of Katrina coinciding with the show. I am excited about the work and happy to be doing this. I hope many will see, remember, think and possibly do something to be involved in some way.

We hope to be working on an e-book to be available to anyone at any time online.
There will also be an online gallery set up for viewing the work for which I will post the link soon.

There is much to be done and the complex problem points out the many difficulties that continue to face this country, not just in the rebuilding and healing of racial inhumanities in New Orleans but the ecological devastation, deteriorating infrastructure and racial and economical injustices found across the entire country.

I hope you will visit the show either in person or online (link to be posted).

I look forward to your thoughts and comments.

Thank you,
Suzanne

Exciting news coverage in Lower 9th ward = increased awareness and renewed interest!!

There are many opportunities to keep New Orleans alive in your heart at Christmas time. Make it Right has just unveiled Project Pink. Covered by the Today Show (see video) this morning, Project Pink is an installation in the Lower 9th created to bring attention to Make it Right and the adopt a house fund raiser. Headed by Bran Pitt (star power never hurts), you can adopt a whole house for $150,000 or just a gallon of paint or a compact flourescent light bulb. Donations in any denomination are also accepted.

Project Pink consists of little pink monopoly type houses created to represent the future 150 homes. There will be viewing platforms for pedestrians while the project continues.

Be sure to check out the really neat web site!


Christmas Giving - New Orleans link for many of the active organizations in Lower 9th that could really use donations and hope you will support them at this time.


In case you missed it before here is the Wetlands video embedded into this blog

Last Day-Musicians Village and FEMA Trailors and more FEMA Trailors

Musicians Village -upper 9th ward.

Today is my last day here. Its been a good but difficult trip. I feel so lucky I have a nice home to return to. Brandon has been a wonderful guide and I have seen so many things that I would not have if not for her. I thank her for all her time, insight and information. Her old truck barely crossed the bridges over the Mississippi but we made it to all our destinations.

We made a trip over to Musicians Village today in the upper 9th.

The Musicians' Village, conceived by Harry Connick and Winton Marsalis, will consist of 70 single-family, Habitat for Humanity-constructed homes for displaced New Orleans musicians and other qualifying families. On January 9, 2006 NOAHH acquired eight acres of land in the Upper 9th Ward where the core area of the Musicians' Village will be located.

In addition to the homes in this tract, plans call for building at least 150 other homes in the surrounding Upper 9th Ward neighborhood. Construction began in March 2006 and the first ten homeowners moved into their new homes in August 2006. As of this date there have been 36 new Habitat homes constructed in the area. As you probably know, Habitat for Humanity helps families break out of the cycle of low-quality properties with high rent payments and into the world of reasonable payments toward home ownership.

Along the Gulf Coast, Habitat is currently undergoing construction on more than 57 homes per month in a region where Habitat affiliates had built 57 per year. Additionally, Habitat’s three goals for the effort are being met. The goals, set immediately after the hurricanes struck, included helping Habitat affiliates restore service in affected areas, partnering with other organizations to address the complex housing need and building simple, decent homes in partnership with low-income, hurricane-affected families.


More Habitat for Humanity homes in upper 9th

This is a fantastic organization from what I have seen here and if you want to be involved or donate this looks like a really great group. They are still looking for volunteers and you can work just one day if that is all you the time you have.










FEMA trailors

FEMA trailors are everywhere. Its hard to imagine whole families living in these tiny tin boxes. Those who were lucky enough to have a yard to place the trailor in seem to be a bit better off than those who live in the FEMA trailor parks. Row after row of trailers on asphalt. About 3,000 people live in more than 20 large communities of trailers.



FEMA trailers behind fence.



video

Well, that's it for now. Thanks to everyone who has been reading along. I hope the writing wasn't too awful! Volunteer, donate, march, tell people, do whatever you can and hopefully someone's life will be better.

Love, Suzanne